23rd September 2013: Sun Quincunx Neptune

by Sarah Varcas on 23/09/2013

The Martyr Trap

by

Sarah Varcas

Today the Sun’s connection to Neptune warns us that we may encounter a martyr or become one ourselves. The potential for self-sacrifice is strong and the tendency to take on more than we can manage, prompted by a misguided sense of duty, is rife. The role of martyr is being highlighted now because it doesn’t belong in the burgeoning Age of Aquarius and we need to be able to spot it clearly, in ourselves and others, to prevent it getting a foot in the door! Martyrs abounded in the Age of Pisces, when saviours were sought and self-sacrifice was a path to the Divine. But we are leaving that age now, and with it the out-dated roles that have become tarnished by ego investment and the consequent perversion of their pure purpose.

Modern day martyrs are easy to spot. When we’re acting out that role we feel burdened but in such a way that we get some kind of warped satisfaction from it: ‘oh look at me….so important, with all this responsibility because no one else could possibly do it the way I can. It’s ALL down to ME. I am so exhausted and yet so very important I couldn’t possibly step back and let someone else take the strain!’ There’s plenty of fuel for the ego in there, and it can be a terribly seductive place to be at times. Somehow it just makes us feel so special… way too special to let go of all that importance and recognise that actually we’re just a plain old nobody like everyone else and if we don’t do all these amazing things that need to be done someone else will (if they’re really necessary that it is!).

The modern day martyr is the person who acts ‘selflessly’ whilst feeling terribly self-important and special in doing so! Not to be confused with the person who acts because action is needed, free of the need for recognition or ego gratification. And we can be both at different times in our lives, sometimes at different times in the same day! These roles aren’t set in stone. They arise and then fall away as our level of consciousness shifts and changes throughout the day. It can be a lot easier to spot the trap and avoid it when we’re energised and awake, a lot harder to avoid martyrdom when we’re exhausted and overwhelmed!

So today we’re charged with the task of staying aware of the martyr within and without. If we’re alert to the energy of ego-driven self-sacrifice we can spot it a mile off and take evasive action! Acts undertaken from this place of burden are tainted by its energy and best avoided. Instead we can commit to acting only from a place of clarity, doing what needs to be done with a lightness of touch that allows it to be done and then gone from our consciousness, not carried with us as a medal of martyrdom. If our inner voice is telling us ‘if I don’t do it no one else will’, and there’s that ego rush that follows (often in the form of a perverse satisfaction in our plight!), it’s time to step back and take stock because we’ve lost our connection with the inner wisdom that knows when action is needed and when things are best left alone.

The Aquarian Age brings us new templates of personal power and responsibility together with freedom from ego-driven sacrifice in pursuit of the Divine. But we have to be the ones to embrace those new templates and do what’s necessary to embed them in our consciousness. We can continue to run on the old settings if we wish, but adopting the new ones will lead to far greater freedom of choice and fulfilment of purpose in due course. That’s if we can find the time to change, of course, and we’re not too busy and important to do so!!

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In order to prioritise other projects I’ll not be blogging or Tweeting for a while.
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